Is there anywhere in the Eastern United States that one can off-road and camp for a few days?

I always loved in Topgear and related shows when they drove across the plains of Africa or some random place and camped overnight. I'd like to do that,  but on this continent.

I'm aware of off-road parks, but I'm not looking to climb rocks or do any crazy offroading. Prefer to travel some distance off road, camp, repeat.

Off-road level: stock 4x4 SUV with good tire9s capable.

Edit:

Overlanding. That's the word I'm looking for.

Idk of any places that's like a 3 day off road trail ride where you camp on the trail, but your thread caught my attention.

Wellsville ohio has offroading and camping. A no rules do as you please kinda place.

Southington Offroad Park in ohio has the same, but with structure.

Check out the various overlanding websites out there, I would imagine you'll be able to find a good number of routes mapped out for you.

Try these for starters:
Expedition Portal
Overland Journal

There are hundreds of miles of forest service roads in the Jersey Pine Barrens. Not quite the same but pretty cool if stuck in Jersey.

Legal?

Pine barrens... not sure if I'll ever get out!

Edit:

I want to go overlanding. I didn't know that was the word.

I dream of getting a group together and going out West for a few weeks to do this.  Spend a year getting a vehicle just perfect for such a trip then go have a blast with it!

I have no idea on where to go, but if you like the overland shows check out Ronny Dahl on YouTube.

The George Washington national forest in VA has dirt roads that you camp camp off of.

Look for Alhambra RD in Amherst County it's near Crabtree Falls.

Central Florida has miles and miles of management area trails where you can off-road and then camp out.

Summer would not be a good time to do this though

Out here in WA there are hundreds of miles of National Forest logging roads in all manner of disrepair, on thousands of acres.  We've taken the M1009 down some so narrow that the brush guard was plowing the trees aside (that CARC paint is tough).  At the end of some of these roads it opens to small clearing where you can set up camp and build a fire from the deadwood all around.  There are also blessedly few bugs if you stay away from swampy areas.  We have a half dozen 'secret' spots we use, and last fall while scouting for a $5 Christmas tree we found the mother-of-all campsites with incredible views; can't wait until summer to get up there.

These are a some pics from one of the first spots we found.  We stopped using it because I think it was a staging area for the logging trucks and the ground is built up with crushed rock so it's almost impossible to dig a poo-pit.  The surrounding forest grew in so thick I would have to machete a path to dig one out there.  The condition of the road leading in means total isolation.  

I take it this is what you're looking for out there.  Enjoy!

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Why is your tent on top of your truck? 

It's a roof top tent, they mount to a roof rack and stay stowed under their own cover when not in use. They're awesome because they take about 3 minutes to deploy and only another few minutes to pack up.

Companies like CVT and Tepui are very popular among overlanders.

Mine is a CVT.  I would love to do a trailer set-up but there are too many of the old roads that for one reason or another just....end.  Most of the time it can be a mile or more before you find a spot wide enough to get the truck turned around, so truck & trailer would be a nightmare.  

Three minutes is optimistic; it takes me about 15 minutes because I need to drag a step stool around so I can reach.  

Here's another shot of it closed up.

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Ya, my CVT is on a trailer and only about eye level (I'm 6'2") so i don't have to struggle to reach anything.

I was concerned a but about losing the maneuverability as well, but luckily it hasn't been a huge hassle yet. If I ever get really stuck I just unhitch and hand bomb the trailer around.

it's car camping, don't over-do it on gear

Roof top tent on a M1009 CUCV? Near perfection. Maybe a towel to cover the vinyl so you don't stick to it.

Car camping done right....In places you cant take a car...

My goal is an xVenture trailer but until I can swing that I put my tent and foxwing awning on top of a 101a2 trailer..
A bit too tall but it will work for now..

I picked up my XV-2 a few weeks ago, got the rtt a couple of weeks ago(had to wait for the CVT Denali to come in stock). I'll get the lift assist for the elevating rack put on this weekend. Here are a couple of crappy pics, one without the rtt and one with.


Not a cheap set up, but it has everything we want. Hot/cold water for the kitchen and shower, plenty of lights and spare power ports for electrical gadgets, tons of lockable space for all of our gear. The  foxwing awning with walls and CVT tent give us plenty of space to use and get out of the weather if need be. It's easy to tow and it fits in the garage.

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It's a lot easier to find a place to do this if you go to the West.

I'll probably be at Overland Expo West in a few weeks.

ETA: The Avatar (an 02 TJ) tows a homebuilt trailer with a Dinoot M-series tub, a Lock-n-Roll coupler, a Tepui Kukenam RTT, and a Smittybilt Awning on a homemade retractable mount.

Cheaper than buying new, but if you look long enough, you can find used for about what it costs to build.

I haven't messed with a lot of the stuff people do... My Kitchen is separate, not pull out. I have a hot shower... but it's not built into the trailer. My tub is just that - a tub. I like it that way because even though 90% of what I carry is the same all the time, I can change out anything anytime I want.

Look into Michaux State Forest, although it may not be big enough for multiple days of driving around.

glad to see some other overlanders here

i got the bug last year and got a trailer after the overland expo east

I use a truck with a canopy, and I still don't need a trailer with an awning and half the stuff displayed

and *gasp* I still manage to have an amazing time

Thread subscribed.

I really want a rig w/ roof top tent but unfortunately my Patriot doesn't really have heavy use rated roof rails.

I think some type of trailer might be my next best bet.

The roof rails have two 'ratings' really.  One is the total load it can hold before it collapses (not advertised) and the total load that it can carry while screaming down the freeway.  The latter number is the one the car maker will quote in your owners manual, and is significantly less than the former number.  

You don't need a trailer for a roof-top tent; they're very light weight.  

What kind of tent?  Unfortunately 1k, even for a roof top tent is a little beyond my budget at this point.

The ones I linked were Cascadia Vehicle Tens (CVT), there are other brands, and they do run over $1K.  However I've had mine for seven years or so and it's as good today as it was when I bought it.  I'm not sure how you planned to employ the trailer you mentioned in the earlier post.  Were you planning to just sleep on the trailer bed?  A decent trailer that you can take offroad will run you almost as much as the CVT which won't have any of the limitations a trailer has.

I've known people that just sleep on the roof of their cars without a tent, that's doable if rain isn't in the forecast.  A tent on the ground next to the car/truck works for a LOT of people too.

Yeah, bug-out trailers with tents attached and gear hanging off the sides are cool, but only if you'll use them often.  If they're just sitting in your driveway after you've sunk a ton of money into them, well seems a little silly.  We like to take the roof-top tent out to places you could not, would not, or should not pull a trailer because we enjoy the total solitude you find at the end of the un-maintained overgrown road; sometimes it's the forth or sixth one you tried before you found some place to set up.  Some days that involves a lot of roads with 1,000' drops on one side where the wife wants to get out to "spot" you backing down, sometimes it's dead ends after miles of ~road that is barely wider than the truck, but it's always an adventure.  As long as the wife is having fun!